Planning to spend a couple of days in London (was last there in 1976) in a couple of weeks -
Recommendations for nice hotels in the center of the city, that aren't crazy expensive?
I know that London is expensive - thinking that tourism might calm down a bit in October - -
Thanks!
London is always busy, so unfortunately not likely to make much difference.
If you don't mind, it would help if you shared a budget range, as one person's "crazy expensive" is another person's "reasonable".
London has multiple centres, rather than just one. Personally I would say the west end is where I would recommend staying. That covers multiple neighbourhoods but is broadly central to many (not all) tourist sites. But very central neighbourhoods like Mayfair, St James', Soho, Covent Garden etc are the most expensive. Others prefer more residential areas.
Yes, please define what “ not crazy expensive” means to you.
Tourism is always crazy in London. Tis what it is.
I enjoy the Premier Inn chain. A favorite PI often mentioned here on the Forum is the one at County Hall. It’s across the Thames from the House of Parliament.
I’ve also stayed in the Royal Horse Guards hotel although many years ago. Pleasant location.
Do you need an elevator, room with a view?
It does help to have an idea of budget, in £ if possible.
As was remarked, there are many "centers". I love being in the areas around St Paul's and Bankside. I prefer aparthotels which may or may not be your thing. SACO, Locke and Cove are aparthotel/serviced apartment brands owned by Edyn. Personally I have a fondness for Locke-at-Broken-Wharf, but there are a number of locations across London.
https://www.lockeliving.com/en
https://www.staycove.com/en
https://www.sacoapartments.com/
There's also Native at https://nativeplaces.com/
We really liked Park Plaza County Hall near the London Eye when we went to London 2 years ago. In fact, I'm going to London end of October and I'm going to stay there again.
I would suggest looking at Premier Inns, which, as Claudia noted, is a chain of hotels throughout the UK. I have stayed in them in various locations and have always been pleased. They are consistently clean, comfortable (great beds!), and very reasonably priced; especially for London. They have them all over London, so it's easy to find one in a convenient place. Breakfast is available but costs extra (although the price is good for what you get).
I recently stayed at the Premier Inn County Hall, which had the advantage of being within walking distance of the Westminster area, and many other places. But it was also convenient to places like Borough Market, which has such good food and interesting things. The Premier Inn Paddington Station is the newest PI, and is right next to the Paddington station, which can be helpful for local transport. There are plenty of others in central London, but I would strongly suggest that you book as soon as you can, as the price goes up the closer you get.
We like the Celtic, in Bloomsbury. We were there in July, and a very comfortable double cost us under $200 a night, a good breakfast included. It would have been even less without the breakfast. There are plenty of shops, pubs, and restaurants nearby, as well as tube and bus access.
London is always busy. The vast majority of visitors are British people from elsewhere in the country and this is all year round as people attend galleries, shows or visit restaurants, plus millions of people live and work there.
I also recommend Premier Inns. If you want to spend more I stayed at the Clermont Charing Cross last year and loved it. Amazing location. Good value for London.
The Radisson Blu South Kensington (68-86 Cromwell Road) is a lovely mid-priced hotel in a good location:
https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-london-south-kensington
It's basically right across the street from the Gloucester Road tube station, where numerous lines give you the ability to quickly travel all over London or to Heathrow airport. (The station entrance is located close to the junction of Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road.)
You are walking distance from great museums; such as The V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum and the Natural History Museum.
I agree with all the above posters that you might also look at the Premier Inns in various locations all over London.
My family stayed at Wedgewood Hotel a couple of years ago. It was a nice place. A decent hotel for the price and location. Clean and the staff was very friendly. The furniture was moderately frayed though, but the price of about $100 for a triple room... not bad at all.
